HRS News

Welcome to HRS News!

HRS News has been created to help managers gain access to timely and helpful information regarding all things related to human resources. HRS News will include articles regarding employee benefits, compensation, hiring, employee relations and training. In addition, it will include links to HR-related articles that might be of interest to you. We recognize that the people side of your job can be taxing at times. We appreciate working with you as we believe that line managers are the real managers of human resources. If you have any suggestions for future articles or issues to explore, please contact us via e-mail at hrs-news-feedback@byu.edu.

HRS News - 2012 - January

Fostering Honor in the Workplace

Brigham Young University employs over 14,000 students to approximately 2,500 work supervisors. Often, student employees will spend more time with their supervisors than they will with any one faculty member. According to the “Aims of a BYU Education,” we know that “every part of the BYU experience should strengthen character.” In addition to teaching students how to DO their jobs, what a tremendous responsibility we, as supervisors, have to influence the building of character.

This year’s campus-wide Honor Week is scheduled for January 30 – February 3. Student Employment, in cooperation with Employee Relations and the Honor Code Office, is sponsoring two workshops during the week entitled, Fostering Honor in the Workplace.

This workshop will focus on several honor-related issues in the workplace and how supervisors can appropriately and effectively address these issues with their employees. Some of the issues that will be discussed include:

Dress & Grooming Standards

Honesty in the workplace

Appropriate behavior towards others

Appropriate use of university property

Space is limited to 25 participants per class so register today! To register, log in to http://ytrain.byu.edu, select “Catalogs” and then “Human Resource Services.”

Wednesday, February 1st, 2-3PM Thursday, February 2nd, 11AM – 12PM

For more information on Fostering Honor in the Workplace workshops, contact Collette Blackwelder at 2-6926.

For more information on Honor Week, contact Val Shewfelt at 2-3902.

Hiring Those From the Armed Forces

With troops returning home, hiring managers can expect to see more job applications from those who have served in the Armed Forces. The following are some tips to follow when considering hiring service men and women:

Non-Discrimination

When making hiring decisions, hiring managers need to ensure they do not discriminate against service men and women based on past, present, or future military service[i] (this includes not ruling out reservists based on concerns about their time away from work).

Managing Bias

Negative stereotypes and bias against the military can result in good candidates being passed over. For instance, hiring managers may worry that ex-military will not take initiative, but instead will merely wait for orders,[ii] when, in fact, organizations report that their military hires demonstrate flexibility to work strongly in teams or work independently, have a strong sense of responsibility, and are able to multi-task and adapt to changing situations quickly.[iii]

Identifying Transferable Skills

When scanning job applications, hiring managers may miss some valuable skills and qualifications, as it is often difficult to readily see how military skills match up to qualifications for civilian jobs. A careerbuilder.com survey shows that one-in-five veterans believe their biggest challenge in getting hired for a civilian position is employers’ inability to understand how military skills can fulfill qualifications for civilian positions.[iv]

While it is the applicants’ responsibility to highlight their skills in their résumés and applications, hiring managers should also take time to consider what “transferable skills” exist rather than looking solely at job-specific skills or matching job titles. For instance, a truck mechanic who applies for a commercial cleaning equipment repair job will have general mechanical skills that are transferable. Officers who have led combat units on the front line have strong leadership skills that transfer well to management positions.[v] And while an infantryman’s rifle skills are not transferable to most civilian jobs, his skills in critical thinking, complex problem solving, safety awareness, and situational awareness are valuable to a variety of jobs.[vi]

As with any hiring decision, hiring managers can keep on the road to “Hiring the Best” by avoiding illegal discrimination, moving past stereotypes and biases, and taking the time to understand and appreciate the variety of skills that applicants, including those with military experience, have to offer.

Further information: USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) poster can be found at USERRA. The BYU Staff and Administrative Leave Procedures for military can be found at: Military Leave

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Part II--Substantation

FSA is a tax savings program that is offered through the federal government and regulated by the IRS. Deseret Mutual administers the program for BYU employees. Always save your receipts for services paid for with your Benny Card—this is important both because the IRS may audit you and, more likely, Deseret Mutual will require substantiation. Substantiation is the process of Deseret Mutual verifying that the service that you paid for with your Benny Card is a valid and eligible purchase. Deseret Mutual requires this because they report to the IRS that the plan participants (you) are spending tax exempt money on eligible services such as co-pays, co-insurance, and prescriptions. In order for your claim(s) to be substantiated, you will need to send Deseret Mutual a copy of your receipt, an explanation of benefits, and a copy of the bill or statement. If you fail to respond to a substantiation request, your Benny Card will be deactivated until you either provide the requested information or a payroll deduction is made for the amount in question. Take charge of your FSA by promptly responding to substantiations.

Indoor Cycling for Faculty & Staff

New this semester, the BYU Wellness Program is offering indoor cycling for faculty and staff in room 137A of the RB. The following offerings are available:

Other Articles

HRS News - 2012 - February

Student Employee of the Year

Finding and Using the University Policies/Procedures Website

Has an employee ever asked you a policy-related question that you had heard answered before, but weren’t quite sure where to find the answer again? Or, has your department wanted to emphasize a certain university policy or procedure at a staff meeting, but you weren’t sure where to locate the policy in order to print it off? These are two scenarios that happen often and frequently prompt people to ask HR where the University Policies/Procedures website can be found.

Below is the simplest way to find and log into the University Policies/Procedures website:

Instead of going through Route Y, you may go directly to the University Policies/Procedures website by typing http://policy.byu.edu/ into your browser and pressing search. If you aren’t already logged into Route Y, you will be prompted to log into it by using your regular BYU Net ID and Password.

Once you have logged into the website, you will see a search function which can be used in order to locate your topic of interest (please see the red arrow below). If you know the exact title you are looking for, or some exact wording within the title, using the search by “Titles” method will work just fine.

If you are unsure what the title of the policy or procedure is, but are familiar with the content of the policy or procedure, you can easily search by key words in the text of all policies and procedures by switching over to a “Full-Text” search (please see the green arrow below). This method will pull up any policies or procedures that contain the word you have searched for within its text. For example, doing a Full-Text search with the word “breaks” would help you find the “University Work Week for Full-Time Employee Policy,” which addresses meal and break periods for employees.

If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact your Area HR Consultant for assistance. To locate your Area HR Consultant, click here.

Make Saving For College Simple

We’re fortunate to have one of the nation’s top-ranked 529 college savings programs in our own backyard. The Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) is Utah’s official nonprofit 529 plan, created by the Utah Legislature to encourage families to save for college.

Your benefits package includes the option to contribute after-tax dollars directly to a UESP account with payroll distribution. It’s a great way to save―UESP’s low fees, flexibility, and federal and Utah state income tax advantages make it possible for you to potentially save more for higher education expenses than you would with a taxable investment.

Your benefits package includes the option to contribute after-tax dollars directly to a UESP account with payroll distribution. It’s a great way to save―UESP’s low fees, flexibility, and federal and Utah state income tax advantages make it possible for you to potentially save more for higher education expenses than you would with a taxable investment.

UESP representatives will be on campus March 29 to present how saving with UESP can benefit you and your family and how to set up accounts. (Prizes are included, of course!) Campus employees may attend either session:

As a special promotion, UESP will match BYU—Provo employee contributions up to $20 (one time contribution) for new accounts opened using promotional code 1203BYU between March 29 and April 11, 2012. To qualify for the promotion, the account owner and beneficiary must both be new to UESP. Accounts can be opened in person, online at uesp.org, or with an Account Agreement.

To participate in the payroll distribution, you must input your information at https://my.byu.edu, Work, Human Resource Payroll. Click on Payroll/Compensation and go to Direct Deposit. Enter the bank information according to the instructions you’ll receive from UESP.

Retirement Benefits Presentations: How to Plan and Prepare

Presentations on retirement topics are available for your department staff meetings.The presentations can be customized to last anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, depending on the needs of your department. The following topics are available for discussion:

Pre-Retirement, Retirement, and Post-Retirement

Saving and Investing for Retirement

Retiree Insurance

Social Security

We encourage all BYU employees to be planning and preparing for retirement.

For more information, or to schedule a presentation, contact Peg Schmidt, Assistant Director of Benefits Services, at 422-4486 or peg_schmidt@byu.edu.

Life Insurance: Protect Your Loved Ones

How important is life insurance? Often, we do not think about this particular benefit until we need it and then it is too late. Over the past year, our office has noticed that our employees are not sufficiently covered, leaving surviving family members with financial hardships. Some employees may feel that life insurance is too expensive and that they cannot afford the cost. Others wait and hold off purchasing life insurance, thinking that they will get around to it later. Some employees develop health issues that prevent them from qualifying for life insurance when they could have qualified for it before the health issue became a concern.

Whether employees purchase life insurance from Deseret Mutual or another company, we want to stress how important it is to get coverage and not to wait to do so. Our office is available to attend your staff meeting and give a 30-minute presentation on the life insurance programs offered through Deseret Mutual. We can also bring an individualized summary of benefits for each employee at the meeting so they can review their coverage and make changes to their life insurance as needed. Please call us at 801-422-4716 to schedule a presentation with one of our Benefit Counselors.

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Free Fitness Trainers & Nutrition Coaches

Fitness Trainers: Fitness trainers are now available to help you develop a personalized workout plan, improve your exercise technique, or learn how to use the weight room machines. They can also provide a variety of tests to assess your fitness level. Spouses are also welcome to use this service. To schedule an appointment to work with a fitness trainer, click here: fitness trainers

Nutrition Coaches: Nutrition coaches are now available to help you create an eating plan for good health, sports nutrition or weight management. They can provide tips for shopping on a budget or answer general nutrition related questions. Spouses are also welcome to use this service. To schedule an appointment to work with a nutrition coach, click here: nutrition coaches

HRS News - 2012 - June

Steps for Providing Coaching and Correction

As a supervisor, an important part of your job is to provide coaching and correction when someone who reports to you is not meeting expectations. The correction comes easily when you have an employee who is simply lacking a needed skill: You send her to training, she develops the skill, and the problem is solved. But how do you handle a situation when your employee has a behavior issue that needs to be corrected? Or, how do you respond when the employee has the needed skills, but is not performing to expectations? Do you transfer her? That can be a very uncomfortable conversation, but one that you and the employee must have. Fortunately, there is a process you can follow to help the employee get back on track. Here are some recommended steps:

First, put yourself in your employee’s shoes. Ask yourself, “If I were not meeting expectations, would I want my supervisor to let me know?” Of course you would. Elder David A. Bednar said, “It is far more loving to appropriately provide correction and council than it is to duck the issue.” You can feel confident that you are taking the right step by deciding to talk to your employee.

Second, sit down with your employee and provide coaching on needed behavior changes or performance improvements. Remember to keep your coaching focused on business-related concerns. Don’t make it personal. Give some examples of what needs to be fixed. Explain what your expectations are. Tell your employee how you will measure his progress to let him know when he is back on track. Point out the consequences if expectations are not met. Here is an example of how you can cover all of these areas:

“Tom, I noticed that you were late to work three days last week, and you were late again this morning. Our office hours are from 8:00am to 5:00pm, and I’m expecting you to be available to customers during those hours. (You may want to give him an opportunity to explain why he has been late.) I’ll be reviewing your Y-Time to ensure that you are on time. If this continues to be a problem, I will need to take further disciplinary action.”

Following your coaching meeting, send the employee an email recapping your conversation. Documentation is critical. Now, give your employee some time to demonstrate that he understood your concerns and has made the needed corrections. A time frame could be a few days or a few weeks, depending on how long it may take to observe the needed corrections. This process does not need to take months or years while you continue to endure poor performance. It is critical that you immediately address the next occurrence as soon as you observe it. Get with the employee as soon as possible if he performs poorly again. On the other hand, if your coaching resolves the problem and you don’t observe any further performance concerns, you are done!

Third: If you continue to see problems, the third step is to present a written warning to your employee. Work with Employee Relations to draft the written warning. Once you have the written warning, meet with the employee to review your concerns. Remind him that you discussed this issue with him earlier and explain that you now need to take further disciplinary action. Deliver the warning letter and give him time to correct the poor performance.

Fourth: Usually when you take these steps, the employee’s performance will get back on track. If not, termination may be the fourth step. When you have followed these steps as described and a termination discussion becomes necessary, you can feel comfortable that the employee was given opportunities to be successful.

So, keep up the good work. Minimize the stress on you and your team by taking steps to “appropriately provide correction and council." For further information on progressive discipline, go to the online university procedures at this web site:

Before You Make That Job Offer...

Helpful Hints for Hiring Managers

Denise Haney, Area HR Consultant

Occasionally, HR discovers that some job applicants have been offered jobs before references have been checked, before ecclesiastical clearances have been done, and even before salaries have been set. To avoid this mistake and ensure that everything runs smoothly for everyone involved, a review of the job offer process is provided below:

1) Reference Checks: Two reference checks should be done before making a final decision about an applicant. Information from the references helps the Hiring Manager make an informed decision. Reference forms can be found here.

References should be completed and reviewed before an applicant is offered the job. It is important that Hiring Managers do not give applicants any indication that the decision rests on the references (Saying, for example, “We would like to offer you job, we are just waiting for references.”). This is because references often come back that influence the decision to hire an applicant. When the job is offered before references are completed, the Hiring Manager sometimes finds him or herself in the uncomfortable position of having to rescind the offer. In these circumstances, applicants tend to debate the decision, and some have actually gone back to confront their previous employer about the “bad” reference.

2) Ecclesiastical Clearance: Once the decision of who to hire is made, the ecclesiastical clearance should be requested through the YJobs system (log on at https://yjobs.byu.edu/hr).

Ecclesiastical clearance should be completed before an applicant is offered the job. It is important that applicants are not given an indication that the decision rests on the ecclesiastical clearance (such as, “We would like to offer you the job; we are just waiting for the bishop to contact us”). More frequently than we like to imagine, applicants are not cleared by the bishop. When this happens, the Hiring Manager, as in the above scenario, must rescind the offer. This also puts an undue burden on the bishop, especially when applicants return to him to negotiate a better recommendation.

3) Salary Review: An HR consultant will determine the salary range once the reference checks and ecclesiastical clearance have been received.

4)Job Offer: The job offer can be made once the HR consultant calls the department with the salary and the “all clear” is given to make the offer. The salary should be in hand before an applicant is offered the job. Offering a job with no salary is confusing and awkward for the applicant, and does not portray the level of professionalism expected during a job offer.

5) Post-offer Physical Exam: If a job has physical requirements, the job offer is made after the above is completed but before the physical exam is conducted. When the offer is made, the conversation might develop along these lines: “We are happy to extend the job to you with a salary in the amount of xxxx. This offer is contingent on your passing the physical exam.”

So, remember: reference checks done, ecclesiastical clearance completed, and salary in hand before making or suggesting a job offer to an applicant. Following these steps will make the process run smoothly for all involved.

A Closer Look at TIAA-CREF

Did you know that all full-time and part-time employees (non-student) have the opportunity to contribute to retirement accounts through TIAA-CREF?

TIAA-CREF offers two types of 403(b) plans: the Teacher’s Insurance Annuity Association (TIAA) plan and the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF). Both plans include the following features:

• The principal is tax-sheltered

• Interest earned is tax-sheltered

• Includes a short-term advantage of saving taxes on each paycheck

TIAA-CREF also offers a Roth IRA option. The advantages include:

• 2012 contribution limit of $5,000 ($6,000 for those of age 50+)

• Earnings grow tax-free (not just deferred) if withdrawn after five years by someone past age 59 ½

• Principal contributions are available for withdrawal anytime, penalty free

• No mandatory minimum distribution age because your contribution is made with after-tax dollars

• Up to $10,000 in earnings can be used for the purchase of a first home after five years

• Contributions can be made by payroll deduction

• There are 27 different investment funds available

Financial Advisors from TIAA-CREF visit campus to provide information, counseling, and advice regarding important financial considerations. This is a free service for all non-student employees. To schedule an appointment with TIAA-CREF, call 1-800-732-8353 or call their Salt Lake City office at 1-801-883-5100.

BYU does not match contributions to TIAA-CREF. For more information, contact Benefits Services at 801-422-4716, or TIAA-CREF at 1-800-842-2776 and online at www.tiaa-cref.org.

Employee Termination Checkout Form

The Employee Termination Checkout Form is designed to inform campus entities of an employee’s last day of work so they may coordinate the ending of campus privileges. The terminating employee should meet with Benefits Services to start the checkout form no later than the last day of work. A benefits counselor will go through the relevant information with the terminating employee, and then notify the appropriate departments, as well as Deseret Mutual, of the termination date. It is important to complete the checkout process so that the terminating employee receives important information regarding health and welfare plans from Deseret Mutual in a timely manner.

The following employee classifications need to fill out the Termination Checkout Form:

Full-time Regular Faculty

Athletic Professional

Visiting Full-time Faculty

Research Associate

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Research Staff

Special Benefited Part-time Faculty

Full-time Staff

Full-time Administrative Staff

Cat 1+ Part-time Staff

Cat 2+ Part-time Staff

Cat 3+ Part-time Staff

Once the terminating employee has met with a benefits counselor, they need to meet with Parking Services and complete the remainder of the form with their supervisor. The supervisor keeps the completed form. The supervisor does not send the form back to Benefits Services.

Any employee who is retiring does not need to fill out the Termination Checkout Form. Retiring employees have already met with a retirement specialist in Benefits Services to process their retirement. BYU retirees who are at least age 55, and have a minimum of ten years of full-time service, maintain their campus privileges.

Effective Dates & Legal Compliance for ePaf

As you know, the federal government requirements for I-9 accuracy leave employers little room for error, particularly regarding effective dates. Any discrepancy between the date listed on an I-9 and the effective date listed on an ePAF would trigger a significant red flag in a government audit.

As of late, changes in effective dates (and therefore, legal compliance issues) appear to be on the rise. Please help us minimize the University’s liability by observing the following:

The first day of work or training should match the effective date listed on a new hire ePAF.

Please do not allow student hires to attend training and/or begin work until you have received an “authorized” e-mail.

Please help students understand that if they do not have access to clock in they are not yet authorized to begin work.

Dates for effective termination should be at least one day following the final day of work.

If hours are worked after the ePAF termination date, the student must be re-hired.

In these instances, the “re-hire” effective date must match the date the work was performed, even if that date matches the date of prior termination.

SAERA-iously, You Should Check this Out

Staff and Administrative Employee Recognition Award (SAERA)

Nominate a BYU employee to receive a SAERA award for demonstrating one of the following values:

HRS News - 2011 - June

Welcome to HRS News!

HRS News has been created to help managers gain access to timely and helpful information regarding all things related to human resources. HRS News will include articles regarding employee benefits, compensation, hiring, employee relations and training. In addition, it will include links to HR-related articles that might be of interest to you. We recognize that the people side of your job can be taxing at times. We appreciate working with you as we believe that line managers are the real managers of human resources. If you have any suggestions for future articles or issues to explore, please contact us via e-mail at hrs-news-feedback@byu.edu.

The Difficult Phone Call

Informing a candidate that they did not get the job is often one of our “least favorite things to do” as a manager—and for good reasons—no one wants to be the bearer of bad news, and making calls like that is uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, not contacting a candidate can be detrimental to the University. Many candidates have shared with me their disappointment and frustration with the University because no one called them back after a job interview (Imagine waiting, waiting, waiting for the call that never comes—you would be disappointed or frustrated, too). It’s likely that these candidates also shared their experience with friends, family, and colleagues. This can put a chill on good candidates applying or reapplying for jobs at BYU and tarnishes the good reputation of the University. The funny thing is…making that phone call is not as hard as you might imagine. Most candidates are grateful to hear from you as soon as possible. And the vast majority will merely say “thank you for the call” and quickly get off the phone. On rare occasions, a candidate might press you for specifics about why they were not chosen, but overall, the experience is a positive one and you will feel better for having demonstrated your professionalism as a representative of BYU.

Here are some tips for making a regret call as positive as possible:

Be honest and to the point

Talk in a friendly tone

Maintain the dignity of each candidate

Do not embellish or misrepresent the facts, i.e., "You were in our top three..."

Do not discuss qualifications of other candidates

Refer to those you hired as being the best match (or best fit) for the position.

Sample regret call:"Thank you for sharing your time and efforts with us as we interviewed for the position. We have decided to extend an offer to another person who we feel made the best match for our office at this point in time. We wish you the best in your pursuits.”

Improved Faculty & Staff Weight Room - Come Check it Out!

BYU Wellness is happy to announce that the Faculty and Staff Weight Room (134 SFH) had a significant upgrade this year. You’ll want to be sure to check it out the next time you are in the Smith Field House. Improvements to the facility include:

The facility is free for all benefitted employees and retirees. To access the room, you will need to pick-up a wristband available in the locker room or at 112 RB. Hours are Mon-Sat 6:00am–9:45pm.

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Nominate Outstanding Colleagues with a SAERA Today!

Remember to recognize your fellow BYU staff and administrative colleagues who demonstrate the CRITERIA values by nominating them for a Staff and Administrative Employee Recognition Award. To nominate a staff or administrative employee today, just click https://www.byu.edu/hr/webapps/saera/ and complete a short nomination form.

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Benefits Services-Be Benefits Wise!

Benefits Presentations

We, at Benefits Services, know how important your benefits are to you. We also know they can be complex and overwhelming. To help you understand, the Benefits Team has designed 15-20 minute presentations which are broken down by categories for simplicity (i.e. medical, savings, beneficiaries, social security, etc). Each presentation is designed to be delivered during your department staff meetings. Contact Benefits Services to schedule a presentation for a department or group.

The Thrift Savings Plan and the Master Retirement Plan offered through Deseret Mutual are two different and separate kinds of benefits. For employees to qualify for either plan, they must be hired into an eligible classification and be at least 21 years old. The following is a list of eligible classifications:

If the employee is not hired into one of these employment classifications, the employee will not be eligible to participate in the retirement plans.

The Thrift Savings Plan, more commonly known as the 401k, is a matching program. Employees receive a matching percentage from the University based on their eligibility date (usually but not always the hire date). Employees may start participation immediately and assume all the risk involved. Employees cannot withdraw money from this plan until they turn 59 ½, terminate from employment, or retire.

The Master Retirement Plan (pension plan) is fully funded by the University. Employees must work at least 1000 hours within one calendar year and earn five years of vesting credit (time of service) to receive a benefit from the Master Retirement Plan. The benefit will be calculated based on a formula of an average salary, benefit credit (years of eligible service), and a multiplier. The multiplier is based on the eligibility date (usually the hire date). If an employee terminates before earning the five years of vesting credit, they will not receive any master benefits.

All eligible full-time BYU employees may qualify for reimbursement for an Independent Study course. Employees may register for an Independent Study course at any time and must pay the total tuition charge up-front. After course completion, employees must contact Benefits Services for tuition reimbursement no later than 60 days after the date of completion. The time span from the day of purchase to the day the final exam is taken will be reviewed to determine if tuition reimbursement is applicable. If employees have already received 6 credits of tuition benefits for non-Independent Study courses (i.e. day classes), during the time that it takes to complete the Independent Study course, then employees will not receive any reimbursement. If employees have not exceeded the 6 credits each semester, they will be reimbursed according to credit limits. Funds will be dispersed through direct deposit.

Terminating Employment

Managers/Supervisors should review the Employment Termination Checkout form with their employee at least one day prior to the employment termination date and instruct employees to visit Benefits Services and the Traffic Office no later than the termination date for a discussion of post-termination benefits. The terminating employee will then return the completed form to the manager/supervisor who keeps the form in the employee’s records.

Customized Training Workshops for Your Department

Human Resource Development provides leadership and employee training programs for faculty, staff, and student employees. You may know that we offer a wide variety of workshops in our office, but did you also know that we provide customized training for your staff meetings, retreats, and events? We can tailor nearly any of our workshops to suit your needs and time constraints. We can also deliver the training anywhere on campus that is convenient for you. Contact Greg Danklef at 422-5885 or greg_danklef@byu.edu for more information, or visit us at http://training.byu.edu.

Check out our new BYU Training Connection Blog. Here you will find additional tips and information about our workshops as well as links to articles and other resources that can help you in your job as a supervisor.

What to Do When Susie Submits an ePAF Then Leaves on Vacation

Did you know?

If someone else in your department (Susie) submits an ePAF and then goes on vacation, you can both follow its progress and access it if action is needed. If you have security access to the same accounts as the submitter, you have the ability to act for them in approving or viewing the ePAF.

For example: Susie entered several ePAFs to hire students for spring term, and then went on vacation. Two of the ePAFs are recycled by Student Employment because the students were not enrolled for any credits. The students are now enrolled and want to begin work. They come to you, but you didn’t enter the ePAF. What can you do?

First, go to your ePAF Home Page and click on “View an ePAF” to see where the ePAF is stuck. Enter the BYU ID in the “Empl ID’’ field. Click “NEXT” and you will see the progress of the ePAF. If it indicates that the ePAF has been sent back to the submitter, it will only appear on that person’s work list. Now that you know where the ePAF is stuck, you can access it by following these next steps.

Go back to your ePAF Home Page and click on “Resubmit, Change, or Withdraw an ePAF. Enter the BYU ID in the “Empl ID” field. You now have access to the ePAF which enables you to take action. You can click “resubmit” and the ePAF will be resubmitted, but will need to follow the same approval steps. If you click “withdraw,” the ePAF will be terminated and you will need to begin a new ePAF (if needed).

If you know that your co-worker(s) will be out for any extended period of time, we suggest that you check through these steps even if a student does not approach you. Following these simple steps will ensure that hires are processed timely, prevent late I-9s, and get your employees working when you need them!

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Job Description Template, It's Fast and Simple!

The simplified job description template provides a faster and easier way to update job descriptions. For managers and supervisors there are many advantages to having updated job descriptions. A few of the advantages are listed below:

Provide a basis for performance development plans

Provide legal protection

Help determine pay grade

A guide for new incumbents

A source for developing interview questions

A reference guide for determining comparable industry compensation

Optimization of money spent on employee compensation by helping match up prospective applicants to skills and experience needed for the position.

It is recommended that job descriptions be updated at least every 3 years.

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Tips & Reminders on Non-Student Job Posting Through YJobs

With the increase in hiring at BYU, many questions have been asked regarding job postings and using the YJobs website. Here are a few tips and reminders:

Prior to posting, all full-time and Category II positions must be approved by the line Vice-President. Before submitting a posting, please make sure the appropriate approval has been obtained and forwarded to the Staff and Administrative Employment Office.

For new Hiring Managers or those in charge of posting jobs, please request access by going to the internal YJobs site. In the upper left corner of the homepage there is a link called “Create User Account.” Click on the link, fill out the table of information and submit for approval. After completing the online form, contact Kamaile Blake by emailing kamaile_blake@byu.edu or call ext. 2-6175 to complete the set-up of the YJobs security.

Some information on the Position Vacancy templates has changed, so please use “From Template” instead of using “From Previous” for new postings.

Once you submit a Position Vacancy, it does not automatically post the job to the external site just yet. After you submit a job posting, it will go through a routing and approval process and then be posted to the applicant site by either the Screener or Consultant from Human Resource Services. Work closely with the Screener and Consultant to ensure a quality applicant pool. To find the HR Screener or Area HR Consultant for your department, contact ext. 2-3563.

For those who approve postings for a department(s), there are a couple of options for approving them. If the job posting is for a Staff or Administrative employee, click “Send to Initial ES Review.” If approving a Faculty posting, click “Send to AAVP Office.” This will ensure the posting is routed correctly and not recycled back to the Hiring Manager, which can delay getting the job posted and filled.

Listing the required qualifications before the preferred qualifications is beneficial in attracting the right individuals to apply.

If you want to use Office Skills Testing, it is recommended to select no more than three relevant tests. Requiring too many tests will make it difficult to attract a good applicant pool as well as unnecessarily time consuming and frustrating to candidates.

For questions regarding posting jobs and using the YJobs website, please call at 422-3563, we’re happy to help! Best wishes in hiring the best candidate for BYU where great people make a great university.

Student Employment FAQs

Q: Can April graduates work during Spring/Summer?A: Only if the April graduate is accepted to a BYU graduate program in the Fall. If not, April graduates should cease working no later than Friday, May 6th. International students who graduated in April have been terminated due to the expiration of their work eligibility and thus should not be working.

Q: How many credits do August graduates need to take to keep their job during the Spring/Summer?A:August graduates must enroll in 3 credits total. 3 credits Spring or 3 credits Summer or 1 credit Spring/2 credits Summer…you get the idea!

Q: What about June graduates? How long can they work for me?A: Although there are no commencement/college convocation exercises in June, students may apply for June graduation. US Citizens/Permanent Residents who graduate in June may continue to work through August if they take a minimum of three credits during Spring term. International Students who graduate in June must stop working no later than June 16, 2011.

Q: When can admitted freshmen begin working?A: Admitted freshmen may begin working once they have graduated from high school.

Q: What if I have a student who is leaving on a mission in the middle of the summer?A: Regardless of the reason why a student defers (mission, finances, marriage, babies, hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro); if they do not meet the credit requirements for employment eligibility, they may not work beyond May 6th.

Q: Can Visiting Spring/Summer students work on campus?A: Yes, if they are enrolled in a minimum of 3 credits during Spring or Summer

Q: If I have an international student employee who is NOT on their approved vacation break, how many hours can they work during Spring/Summer?A: 20 hours/week. Remember, the work week is Saturday 12:01 AM through Friday 12:00 midnight. Please, please, please ensure your international students stay far from the 20 hour limit. The repercussions are very serious for the student! Only international students who are on their approved vacation break may work more than 20 hours/week.

Q: Do independent study credit hours count towards student employment eligibility?A: Independent Study is a great option to work toward graduation; however, we do not consider independent study credits for student employment eligibility.

Q: If my students are eligible to work 40 hours/week during the Spring/Summer, do I have to provide 40 hours of work?A: No, never. Students are allowed to work more hours, but in no way are they guaranteed additional hours. You are not obligated to provide more hours than what is necessary to meet your department needs. The decision is entirely yours as to how many “extra” hours (if any) are offered to students. Please do not feel pressure to keep your student employees busy/working if there is no work to be done. Setting expectations and communicating those expectations early and often is always a great thing!

Q: Who is FICA exempt?A: Undergraduates enrolled for at least 3.0 credit hours and graduate students enrolled for at least 1.0 credit hour during the term are FICA exempt (both the student and the department DO NOT pay FICA). FICA exemption is determined each term; if a student drops below the required credit load during the term, the student will be subject to FICA taxes. International students are always FICA exempt.

HRS News - 2011 - July

Got Something on Your Mind? Talking to Your Employees 101!

We’ve all been there: we know we need to have a conversation with one of our employees, but we keep putting it off because of how awkward it can be. Despite the difficulty of the conversation, it turns out that having these “crucial conversations” is one of the most important things we can do as managers. If we don’t take the time and effort to address concerns or performance gaps as they happen, chances are those bad behaviors will continue and turn into habits.

So how do we start one of these tough conversations? In the book Crucial Conversations, the authors outline a great formula for approaching these difficult situations. The first thing you need to figure out is why you want to have this conversation. What would you like to have as an outcome of the conversation? What would you like the relationship between you and your employee to be once you have talked to this person? These questions can help guide you as you prepare to address your concerns.

With your end goal in mind, start the conversation by asking if you can talk to them about something that has been on your mind. Begin by laying out your facts, not your accusations. Explain what you have seen and observed the employee do or say that has you concerned. You need to be careful here about separating the facts from the assumptions. Suppose you have just made a major policy change in your department. You might tell one employee that you have noticed how they rolled their eyes every time it was discussed and that they seemed to be making fun of it with co-workers during staff meeting. Make sure you stay with the observable facts up front as this will help them see where you are coming from. The facts should be the least controversial part of what you are sharing.

With that foundation, you should then tell the employee why you are concerned. You have drawn certain conclusions because of these facts. In our example you might say that you are starting to think that this employee is not on board with the latest policy change. This step is important because it helps them see where you are going with this conversation.

Bringing up the facts and your assumptions are not enough. You now need to see if your assumptions were correct. You can do this by asking for their thoughts. In our example, we might say, “Am I reading this correctly?” The idea here is that you want to go beyond assumptions and open up a door to talking about the issues. You might be right, or you might be wrong, but by sharing the facts and the conclusions you have drawn, you are saying that you noticed what is happening. By asking the employee if your assumptions are correct, you are encouraging them to share their side of the story which can lead to greater understanding for both you and your employee. This should lead to an opportunity to talk more in depth about each others’ thoughts and feelings on the matter.

Talking about difficult subjects is still difficult, but with a few skills and practice, you can step up to those important conversations and make the course corrections your employees need. Routine feedback that does not immediately put somebody on the defensive is essential to making sure your employees know where they stand and what is expected.

If you would like to know more about how to apply these dialogue skills, HRD offers Crucial Conversations as a 2-day workshop that includes hands-on practice and lots of examples. We can also bring a slice of Crucial Conversations to your staff meeting by delivering an overview of these important skills. For more details contact Greg Danklef at greg_danklef@byu.edu or 422-5885, or visit our website at http://training.byu.edu.

Human Resource Development2001 JKB422-5011

Should I Check References for Student Employees?--Yes! It's a Good Thing!

Several years ago, we (Student Employment) found ourselves in a tough spot. Our student jobs, much like yours, require in-depth training, granting of system access, and time on the job to really get up to speed. It was late August, just days away from the first day of fall semester, when one of our talented and stalwart student employees came in and “needed to talk.” Yes, he was leaving for greener pastures and we were panicked.

If any of you have walked by Student Employment during the end of August/beginning of September, you know that we are overwhelmed with students completing their hiring paperwork, taking office skills tests, and seeking jobs. We had an emergency staff meeting to determine what we were going to do. We had hired several new students earlier in the summer and we remembered that we had interviewed and really liked a particular candidate, but due to her schedule, we didn’t continue past the interview. Since we were desperate, we decided to call and offer her the job on the spot. In our anxious state, we were minutes away from calling the candidate, but cooler heads prevailed as we remembered that we hadn’t checked references. Oh, how glad we were that we followed our reference checking protocol! Although this candidate was great on paper and interviewed beautifully, her references were not glowing, to say the least. Needless to say, we did not offer this candidate the job. We reposted the position, followed our normal hiring procedures, and we acquired an amazing employee. By checking references, we avoided a potential landmine.

Oftentimes, reference checking for student positions is overlooked, underrated, and often dismissed as “unnecessary.” But as we learned with our last-minute hire at Student Employment, reference checking is an essential part of the hiring process: it serves to confirm a candidate’s background, character, and potential fit in a new work environment. The cost of not checking references can be very high, often resulting in wasted time and money and the hassle of having to start a new hire search all over again because the candidate was ill-suited for the position.

Conducting good reference checks takes minimal preparation. The following are a few suggestions that, if followed, may save you future headaches:

Be consistent in asking the same questions to each referee to ensure accurate comparisons when evaluating each applicant.

If possible, always try to call the referee yourself, instead of passing the task to someone else. You, as the hiring manager, know what is important to you.

Explain to the referee that you are considering one of their former employees for a role in your department, mention the role, and let the referee know that you would appreciate them answering a few questions you have about the person.

Ask direct questions that will get you the information you really want and make it easier for the referee to answer you.

Be prepared! Refrain from asking general open-ended questions, as this only encourages vague responses. Here are some examples of good questions to ask the referee:

Tell me about the candidate’s most important contributions to the achievement of your organization’s mission and goals.

Talk about the attitude and outlook the candidate brought to the workplace.

Describe the candidate's productivity, commitment to quality and customer orientation.

BYU Wellness is pleased to announce a new online health tracking program called MyHealth. This FREE program will provide BYU faculty and staff a convenient and secure place to record their diet, exercise, weight, and medical screening results. This tool will provide a great way to track progress toward health goals and ongoing health and wellness lifestyle practices. We hope you will check out this program at https://wellness.byu.edu/MyHealth.

BYU Wellness2001 JBK422-5011

FREE Financial Advice...Who Wouldn't Want That?!?

Employees often have questions regarding their personal finances. At times it is hard to know exactly how much to invest in the 401(k) or if opening a ROTH IRA is a smart move. Each employee’s financial circumstances are unique. We are fortunate to have Financial Planners from Deseret Mutual come to our campus on a regular basis to provide information and give counsel and advice to employees. This is a free service; normally, a service like this costs a couple hundred dollars per hour. The Financial Planners are assigned to our campus and are not paid on commission.

The Financial Planners are experts in their field and fully certified and licensed. You are not limited to just asking questions about your 401(k) or retirement and can make appointments as often as your financial circumstances change. In addition to the Financial Planners from Deseret Mutual, Consultants from TIAA-CREF come for one-on-one meetings with employees pertaining to TIAA-CREF benefits.

To schedule an appointment with Deseret Mutual, call 1-800-777-3622 extension 5627. To schedule an appointment with TIAA-CREF, call 1-800-732-8353 or their Salt Lake office at 1-801-883-5100. Make sure to mention that you are located at the BYU campus. The appointments are generally one hour in length.

Benefits ServicesD-240 ASB

422-4716

BYU – Where Great People Make a Great University - All in a Day’s Work

By now, most of us are familiar with the Staff and Administrative Employee Recognition Award (SAERA) program. I am privileged to get to participate in the presentations of these awards and to learn about the numerous accomplishments of our employees.

Many award recipients seem to consider their efforts “all in a day’s work.” However, a recent recipient did something that far exceeded day-to-day duties. Read on and see if you can guess which value the employee was nominated for:

The employee, who works in one of BYU’s retail areas, noticed a customer was “walking strangely” through the store. The employee, out of concern for the customer, stepped up to him and asked if something was wrong. The customer wrote in the nomination: “Even though I knew something was wrong, I was in strong denial. I was having a stroke. [The employee]’s comments brought forth enough concern on my part that I went to the emergency room where attention to my situation prevented further damage. [The employee]…perhaps even saved my life.”

When the award was presented, there were plenty of tears in the crowd, including those from the grateful customer who benefited from this employee’s actions. And the value? Exceeding Customer Expectations.

Thank you SAERA awardees, past and present, and all the great employees at BYU – you really do make this a great University!

More "Appealing" Forms from Student Employment

Student employees are a valuable campus resource: their efforts, in large part, ensure that the university functions on a daily basis whether their assignments are customer related, clerical, technical, academic, or research-based. As employers, we value their services and recognize the uniqueness of each student to their particular position and responsibility. So, what happens when an indispensable student becomes ineligible to work due to insufficient credits? Or, what if a student needs to work over 20 hours per week to complete a particular project? What are we to do? Not to worry, there may be options!

Depending on each student’s situation, employers can initiate the submission of a form to appeal a university policy (e.g., 20-hour work week, minimum credit load). The process is simple and usually does not take a lot of time. If you have never used them before, here is a brief explanation of each form.

Last Semester Option (LSO): use this form if you have a student employee who is going to begin his/her last semester before graduation and needs less than 6 credits to graduate. International students must receive approval from International Services in order to finalize this request. Under the conditions set forth by the government, LSO approved students are FICA exempt so it’s a benefit to the student and to the department! Due to the FICA exemption, this appeal is available only one per student during their last semester.

Over 20-Hours Appeal Form:use this form if you need a student employee to work more than the allotted 20-hours per week. The department must initiate this type of request to appeal the 20-hour policy. These appeals are selectively approved, so please only submit this appeal if absolutely necessary to the department. Students’ financial situation should not be considered in the appeal. NOTE: Per Federal Immigration Laws and Regulations, international students may not work more than 20-hours per week while school is in session.

Part-Time Option Appeal Form:use this form if you have a student employee who is enrolled in less than the required credit load during any given semester, which is not to be confused with the Last Semester Option form for graduating students. The department must initiate this type of request to appeal the minimum-credit policy. These appeals are selectively approved, so please only submit this appeal if absolutely necessary to the department. This appeal, if approved, is restricted to one exception per student and FICA will be charged to the student and the department. The credit load requirement for student employment is dependent on whether the student is a citizen/permanent resident or an international student and whether he/she is an undergraduate or graduate student. These criteria can be found on the form itself.

Now that you know which forms are available, you can view them online. Student Employment recently updated the Requests/Appeals forms with a new layout and form fields! Now you can type the information in before you print and sign, or you can save it for later. Find these forms, along with the Supplemental Compensation form, on the HRS website (http://www.byu.edu/hr/managers/student-hiring/requests/appeals). If you have any questions regarding Student Employment appeals, please contact us anytime!

HRS News - 2011 - August

Manager, When it Comes to Overtime, What Message Are You Sending?

As a manager, it’s your job to ensure that work is done but costs stay down, and that includes watching how much you spend in overtime pay. As you discuss efficiency with your employees, be sure that you are sending a clear message when it comes to recording overtime.

Employees at BYU desire to contribute to the university as a whole and to their specific jobs and departments as well. In their effort to do so, however, there is the danger that employees will clock out and continue working. Although employees might think they are making a positive contribution, they are actually placing the university in a position of legal risk. Working off the clock is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which can cost the university a significant amount in legal fees and back pay. It is therefore important to communicate to your employees that they must be paid for any work performed for the university.

On the website of Fisher & Phillips LLP, partner Tillman Coffey provides the following tips to avoid “off the clock” work:

Ensure supervisors understand that all non-exempt employees are to record and be paid for all hours worked, even unauthorized overtime.

Remind supervisors that the law and company policy require that non-exempt employees who work any overtime (authorized or not) are to be paid properly.

Review records of hours worked to determine if there appear to be an inordinate number of “overrides” or changes to time entries and determine why. If employees are forgetting to clock in or out, address that issue with employees as a disciplinary matter. If, on the other hand, a supervisor is regularly changing times, get to the bottom of why this is happening.

Be cognizant of dramatic changes in the recorded time it now takes to complete a job. If work that historically took over 40 hours to complete is now taking 40 hours or less, determine why this is happening. Are employees working more efficiently (very good) or simply no longer recording their time accurately (very bad)?

Student Employment: To Transfer or Not to Transfer, That is the Question!

As fall semester approaches and many new students are being hired to replace those who are leaving, it is once again a good time to discuss the differences between concurrent hires and transfers.

A concurrent hire occurs when the student is going to continue working at his or her current job in addition to a new job. In that case do not check the “Leaving another job” box on the ePAF, as this will terminate the current position. If the ePAF in your worklist is incorrectly checked, recycle it to the submitter and include a comment that the jobs should be concurrent (only the original submitter can uncheck the box).

Students are permitted to be hired concurrently on three accounts. If you have any concerns, feel free to discuss them with the other departments.

When a student is leaving one job for another, a transfer ePAF is preferable to differentiate between termination and hire ePAFs. Remember, a transfer is BOTH a hire and a termination, so the effective date is the first day of work at the new job and the last day of the current one. Pay close attention to all the information on the ePAF so corrections can be made before it is processed. It’s better to iron out details beforehand than to be surprised by an employee’s premature ineligibility to work due to an error in ePAF submission .

When approving both transfers and concurrent hires, pay close attention to the comment box. There might be information concerning the employee that is pertinent to your department. You may also add comments and they will be seen by the ePAF originator.

Most importantly, be aware of how submitting or approving an ePAF will affect your department. This will reduce the headaches that come from accidentally transferring students or hiring them on an incorrect date.

Student Employment2024 WSC422-3562

FREE Excercise Classes Starting this Fall!

The BYU Wellness Program is pleased to announce free exercise classes for all BYU non-student Faculty/Staff. Classes will be held daily during the noon hour (12:10-12:50pm) in 134 RB starting on August 29. Come when you can. No registration is required.

You won’t want to miss this wonderful opportunity to get in shape and feel great this school year. Attending classes will not only help you maintain a healthy lifestyle but they will give you an opportunity to have fun and relieve stress during the work day. Remember to dress ready to move and bring a water bottle.

Fundamental Fitness M/WF (starts Aug 29, 2011)

Zumba T/TH (starts Aug 30, 2011)

BYU Wellness2001 JKB422-5884

Nominate Outstanding Colleagues with a SAERA today!

Remember to recognize your fellow BYU staff and administrative colleagues who demonstrate the CRITERIA values by nominating them for a Staff and Administrative Employee Recognition Award. To nominate a staff or administrative employee today, just click https://www.byu.edu/hr/webapps/saera/ and complete a short nomination form.

AAVP OfficeHuman Resource Services2-8135

TIAA-CREF FREE Seminar: Retirement Strategies

The best time to grow your retirement tree is now! It’s never too early.

Dave Penrose, Financial Planner with TIAA-CREF, will be on campus conducting a FREE Retirement Seminar next month. Yup, FREE...so save the date!

Also, campus personnel are invited to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with Dave Penrose to discuss investment and retirement options available through TIAA-CREF. Dave will be on campus on the following dates:

September 28

October 4, 25, 26, 27

November 18, 22

December 8, 9, 21

And don't forget, these services are also at no cost to you! Save hundreds of dollars and call to make an appointment today at 1-800-732-8353.

BYU Benefits ServicesD-240 ASB422-4716

Introducing YTrain: A New Training Tool for Supervisors

At Human Resource Development, we consider training a central part of employment and are pleased to introduce a new tool that will assist us in receiving and tracking training. The new system, YTrain, houses all online training and will allow employees to register for traditional workshops and other live training. One benefit of the new system is the combination of several older systems into one location, which allows you to see your training and the training taken by your employees.

YTrain is available to all BYU employees, including faculty, full and part time staff and administrators, and student employees. As supervisors, you will be able to run reports and see the training your employees attend or take within YTrain, making career development easier than ever.

You can visit YTrain at http://ytrain.byu.edu to see available courses. There is a wide variety of courses in the catalog, most of which are job-specific. For example, employees in Grounds can learn about recycling or planting flowers while other employees learn about cash handling or Y-Expense.

If you are interested in learning more about online training, or if you would like to create training for your employees, contact Jessika Walker in HRD at 2-5887 or jessika_walker@byu.edu.

Soon you will also use YTrain to register for HRD workshops. This will give you enhanced tracking capabilities for your training and allow you to indicate interest in upcoming training events offered by the HRD office. For more information on HRD workshops, contact Greg Danklef at 2-5885 or greg_danklef@byu.edu.

HRS News - 2011 - October

Promoting a Respectful Campus

As fall begins and students return to campus, it is time again to consider how you can help the university fulfill its commitment to provide an inspiring, safe, and productive educational and work environment.

We all share in this responsibility and should consider it both a commitment to the university and a legal requirement. BYU is required to respond promptly and effectively to complaints of unlawful discrimination. In our environment, discrimination becomes unlawful when an employee or student suffers an adverse action affecting his or her employment or education and the action stems from the individual’s membership in a protected category: age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or veteran status. Under these guidelines, it would be unlawful to deny an employee an opportunity for advancement because of his age or to deny a student the opportunity to pursue her desired major because of her gender.

Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination that has serious implications for the university and its employees and students. Behavior may be considered sexual harassment if it is nontrivial, persistent, unwelcome, and sexual in nature and if it negatively affects employment or educational performance or opportunities. Sexual harassment usually comes in one of two forms: hostile environment or quid pro quo harassment.

Quid pro quo harassment occurs when the harasser has authority or power over a student or employee and uses that power to secure sexual favors. The harassment must result in a tangible consequence to qualify as quid pro quo. For example, the harasser may give the victim extra time off if he or she complies with demands or give a poor performance review if he or she doesn’t.

There are several things that you can do personally to assist the university in its commitment. First, treat others with respect. Be aware of and consider the impact of your behavior and comments on others. Second, if you or someone you know is being harassed or subjected to unlawful discrimination, report the concern to management or the Equal Opportunity Manager. Third, if you receive a report of harassment, take the report seriously. Consult with your department or college leadership and coordinate with the Equal Opportunity Office to ensure that the concern is addressed promptly and appropriately.

In order to keep members of the university safe, it is important that everyone know what constitutes discrimination and what is required of them when they encounter it. The Equal Opportunity Manager can provide training for your department or college and guidance for individual questions. Please feel free to contact her in order to schedule training or for assistance.

Best Hiring Practices: Should You Hire Relatives?

The university’s Nepotism Policy is in place to assist in situations where the hiring of relatives or near relatives is being considered. The policy states that “Colleges/departments may not employ a person or contract for services with an individual in a position within the administrative scope of control of a near relative.” The policy is in place to help avoid favoritism (whether perceived or real) pertaining to work schedules, training opportunities, performance evaluations, wages, promotions, and other hiring actions.

In cases where a candidate would not be within the scope of control of a relative (such as working together as peers), careful consideration should still be given before making a decision on the hire. The benefits of hiring a relative (e.g. needing someone right away, not having a large pool of applicants, etc.) often do not outweigh the disadvantages of such a decision.

Whether perceived by other applicants or by employees, favoritism can reflect poorly on management and the university. Applicants who did not receive a job offer may refrain from applying for other campus jobs and portray the university as unfair in its hiring practices. Employees may become disgruntled if they perceive that favoritism is a factor in the hiring of a coworker’s relative.

Another concern is promotions. If a relative is promoted over the other, it may necessitate a change in the reporting structure or the transfer of one of the employees because relatives cannot work within the administrative scope of each other.

Some of the most difficult issues involve discipline and family conflicts. When relatives work together, these issues become magnified. If a manager must correct or discipline an employee, the employee’s relative often feels compelled to get involved or take sides against the manager. If home or family problems enter the workplace, productivity of both employees can decline and conflicts between those employees can occur.

As a matter of best practice, it is not recommended that relatives work in the same department. When contemplating hiring relatives, managers should carefully consider both the advantages and disadvantages of doing so before making a decision.

An Attitude of Hiring the Best

BYU subscribes to a set of core values that set a high bar for our university. In order to reach the expectations set forth in our criteria, we need employees who are constantly striving to reach their highest potential. Our work toward a culture built on our core values begins at the recruiting and interviewing stages of the hiring process. Here are two tips on how to develop an attitude of “hiring the best.”

Know the Position You’re Posting

The first step in developing an attitude of hiring the best employees is understanding the role and responsibilities of the employee. Have you ever interviewed for a job with a manager who doesn’t seem to understand what the position they’re offering entails? It’s a frustrating and confusing experience. Writing out a thorough job description should always be your first priority before posting a job opening. While many of the positions on campus already have a default job description, your work is not necessarily finished. When an employee leaves a position, making it necessary to post an opening, take the time to sit down with the employee and ask for specifics about their job. Ask them what they liked and didn’t like about their job and which areas of it function well and which could use improvement. It might be beneficial to actually print a copy of their job description and ask if it’s accurate and if it could be added to or adapted. An accurate job description will be a great help to the hiring manager during the interviewing process. Use the job description to create standardized questions to assess the applicant’s “fit” for the job. Updated job descriptions also allow applicants to screen themselves from positions, as they have a better understanding of what their responsibilities may be.

Know the Person You’re Interviewing

The second step may seem like a no-brainer. It seems natural that you should know a little about the person that you may potentially hire, so why do we often neglect to do it? We’ve all been in a situation where we need to hire someone and have picked 3-4 applicants who seem like a good fit. You set up the interviews and then work becomes hectic. As you rush from task to task, you return to your office to find a stranger dressed in business attire sitting outside your door. You quickly run into your office to glance over their résumé and application before you ask them to join you. It happens to the best of us, but in order to develop an attitude of hiring the best, you must make time to know who you’re interviewing.

When we say that you should know your applicants, we are by no means suggesting that you google them, check their facebook page or twitter feed, or even look them up in Route Y (in fact, we would suggest that you do not do any of those things). Rather, we suggest that you take the time to read through each applicant’s application, résumé, and cover letter. Use your previously written job description to search for those applicants who meet your exact qualifications. When you sit down for an interview, you should have a complete understanding of the position you’re offering and the qualification and background of each applicant.

Finally, you should make sure that you are interviewing with a purpose. Applicants who are called in to an interview should be treated as final candidates for the position. Although you may already feel that you know who you want to hire, interviewing will help ensure that you are hiring the best candidate for the job. If you are performing interviews purely to go through the motions, you are denying yourself the chance to find and hire someone who may turn out to be the best employee you’ve ever had. You’ll never know unless you eliminate bias and go into the interviewing process with an attitude of finding the best.

An attitude of hiring the best should be our ultimate goal at BYU. We should always be searching for those who will promote our core values and help the university become a place where students and staff can enter to learn and then go forth to serve. Knowing both the responsibilities of the position and the applicants you want to interview will only help in this process. BYU’s Staff and Administrative Employment department is always here to help with any questions or needs you may have. We hope that we will all make our goal to help make BYU the best it can be.

Carl McCainStaff & Administrative EmploymentD-70 ASB801-422-3563

Retirement Benefits Presentations: How to Plan and Prepare

Benefits Services has presentations on retirement topics available for your department staff meetings.The presentations can be customized to last anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, depending on the needs of your department. The following topics are available for discussion:

Pre-Retirement, Retirement, and Post-Retirement

Saving and Investing for Retirement

Retiree Insurance

Social Security

We encourage all BYU employees to be planning and preparing for retirement.

For more information, or to schedule a presentation, contact Peg Schmidt, Assistant Director of Benefits Services, at422-4486 orpeg_schmidt@byu.edu.

HRS News - 2011 - November

Hiring the Best Candidate

A position has opened in your department and now you’re scouring résumés for the ideal candidate. How do you find the best employee? Should you hire from within or look outside for new talent?

Your department deserves the best candidate available. If you have internal qualified applicants, you may want to consider the following:

Résumés - Pay attention to the résumés of internal candidates. Managers may be unaware of their employee's additional qualifications and employment history.

Avoid Pigeonholing Employees – Managers often observe employees performing the same tasks every day and it’s easy to assume that those daily skills are the only abilities an employee possesses. However, an internal candidate may reveal aptitude during an interview that was previously unknown to the hiring manager.

Employee Participation – Most employees will be understanding of hiring decisions, even when they have not been selected, if they have had the opportunity to be a part of the interview process.

Recognize a Known Commodity – A current employee may have proven that he or she is skilled, able, and a good university fit. Additionally, an internal candidate is often already familiar with the new job and previous incumbent. He or she will already understand university culture, policies, and procedures.

We encourage you to consider qualified applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the job. During an interview, you should show respect to the applicant by not skimping on the process—a candidate can easily spot a disingenuous interview. Remember to give an unbiased review to both internal and external applicants. Finally, with biases set aside, choose the best candidate for the job.

Good luck, and happy interviewing!

Employee Relations801-422-3863

Common Student Employment Question: When Can My Students Work More Hours?

BYU has a long-standing policy that students can work no more than 20 hours/week. Graduate students, working within their field of study, are limited to 30 hours/week. In the case of international students, limiting work to 20 hours/week is not only university policy, it is a federal regulation.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, authorized employment for international students “must not exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session. An F-1 student may, however, work on campus full-time when school is not in session or during [their] annual vacation” (see (8 CFR § 214.2(f)).

Student Employment has provided a Holiday/Break Schedule (http://www.byu.edu/hr/managers/student-hiring/additional-manager-resources) to help students and departments determine when students are allowed to work more hours for the remainder of the year and for 2012. The tool has been modified this year to display a calendar that highlights days when US Citizens/Permanent Residents, ELC, and international students may work additional hours.

Here are a few tips:

Print (in color) both attachments at the bottom of the page to display in your office.

Students may work additional hours only on the days that are highlighted in the color that represents their status.

April 24–August 9 (Spring/Summer) is considered a vacation break for U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents during which they may work more than 20 hours/week. The majority of international students take their approved annual vacation during this time, which allows them to work more than 20 hours/week. However, there are ELC and international students who ARE NOT on their vacation during this time and are therefore still limited to 20 hours/week. The students NOT on their annual vacation should follow the schedule as displayed.

Flexible Spending Accounts, Oh My!

All full-time employees who are eligible for medical insurance are also eligible to participate in FSA whether or not they are enrolled in a Deseret Mutual or Altius medical plan. FSA is a tax savings program that is offered through the Federal Government and regulated by the IRS. Deseret Mutual administers the program for BYU employees. There are two different types of Flexible Spending Accounts: (1) Medical/Dental and (2) Dependent Care.

Medical/Dental FSA

This type of account covers out-of-pocket expenses for medical or dental services. Examples of expenses include prescriptions, co-pays, co-insurance, glasses, contacts, contact lens solution, and first aid kits. Employees may use their Benny Card to pay for eligible items or pay out-of-pocket and be reimbursed afterward. The maximum amount an employee may allocate for 2012 is $6,000. Starting in 2013, this amount will decrease to $2,500 in accordance with federal law.

Dependent Care FSA

This type of account covers expenses incurred for utilizing day care while the employee is at work. The maximum amount the employee may allocate in 2012 is $5,000 and will remain the same for 2013. For more information, visit www.irs.gov and see publication 503.

Important Dates to Remember:

December 30, 2011—Allocate the FSA amounts for 2012 no later than December 30, 2011 by midnight. Employees can enroll either online at www.dmba.com or in Benefits Services, D-240 ASB.

March 15, 2012—Employees have until March 15, 2012 to completely use all 2011 FSA amounts or they will lose what is not used.

April 30, 2012—Employees who do not use the Benny Card and instead submit paper claims have until April 30, 2012 to submit all claims for 2011 to Deseret Mutual. Claims submitted after that date will not be eligible for FSA reimbursement.

Questions???

Contact Benefits Services at 801-422-4716 or Deseret Mutual at 1-800-777-3622.

YTrain: Quick, Easy, and All at Your Fingertips!

Did you know that the university has over 300 online training courses that are available to watch this instant? Most online courses are only 15 minutes long but all share valuable information. Here is a sampling of the courses offered: Cash and Check Handling, Budget Training, Best Hiring Practices, Part-time Employee Hours, Fire Alarm Awareness, Ladder Safety, Fire Extinguishers, Forklift Training, Hazardous Communication, and even Robbery Prevention & Response. All of these are available on YTrain (http://ytrain.byu.edu), the new system designed to keep track of which trainings you watch.

You can also enroll in Human Resource Development workshops, such as Generations at Work and Crucial Conversations, on YTrain. YTrain keeps a record of all of your training all in one place—even the conferences and workshops you attend off campus can be recorded in YTrain.

Are you a supervisor? Do you want to know what trainings your employees have completed? YTrain can even show you that information. There are a couple of tutorials on YTrain that demonstrate how to access your employees’ training records. Just log into YTrain using your netID and password, and in the “Search for Training” box, type in these titles: